Monday Swango Nights @ the Palomar in September with Lynne & Topher... for details go to the Events Page...

Topher's Links:

Photo: digitalallusion.com

Chris(Topher) Maraffi’s Swango Blues Dance Alchemy

My Swango Alchemy style of dance is based on the freedom to be creative when dancing, choosing how much you want to add of any one particular style to each dance. Some dances I may add more Argentine Tango, while others may end up having more West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Blues, or Salsa added to them. But as a general fusion technique, I believe if you comingle these dances over time in a relaxed way, they will create a new kind of dancing that is more exciting and fun than any one particular dance style, and make you a better overall dancer in the process.

I am taking an iterative approach to developing this fusion style, by finding fundamental connection points and modifying the dances slightly to make them fit better, while still retaining their essential structure. Swango Blues v.1 has been well documented on my YouTube channel, with demos by me and my previous teaching partner Jessica, and almost two hours of free instructional videos.

There is a smooth elasticity and improvisation to these dances that makes them more than compatible, especially Tango and Swing. Whips flow into colgadas which flow into underarm turns which flow into ganchos, etc. All the movements can be done in closed position, in which case it looks like Tango Nuevo; or done in open position, in which case it looks like West Coast Swing. With my new teaching partner in Santa Cruz, Lynne Caryl, we have started teaching workshops and classes. Starting in September we will be doing a weekly Swango Night at the Palomar Ballroom. Check out the details on my Events Page...

Here is Topher and Lynne dancing swango at a WCS dance:

Here is Topher and Lynne dancing swango at a tango practica :

Here is a preview video of the DVD now available on YouTube:

Here is Lesson 1 on basic Blues dancing:

Go to my SwangoBlues YouTube page to watch more...